Reviews

• very good book

  very good translation, glad I received it.

• Though the language has been polished for English readers, the humor and the intent of the chapters aren't lost... A great read for inquisitive spiritual readers.

• The Chinese original apparently I 2000 pages long, this one is much shorter. This book is a good read , Monkey, the main character, is lovable and nasty at the same time but more of the first... I had the impression that the translation privileged the plot which in my opinion is not the best bit as it's repetitive at times, whereas the interaction between the characters is hilarious... I was considering reading a different, more recent translation... maybe in the future I will

• Ich bin endlich durch und habe wegen Monkeys Frechheiten gegen Autoritätspersonen mehrmals kurz auflachen oder schmunzeln müssen. Es liest sich wie eine Satire an Heldenlegenden und ich glaube, das ist auch beabsichtigt. Ein wichtigtuerischer, kleiner Affe der sich gleich selbst als König krönt und das große himmlische Reich an der Nase herumführt. Er bestiehlt, beleidigt und verkloppt jeden, der ihm krumm kommt und wo er ein Ziel wittert, ist er mit Eifer bei der Sache es zu erreichen. Monkey ist ein Anti-Held und seine Geschichte bis heute eine der bekanntesten Legenden aus Asien. Wer DragonBall kennt, wird merken, warum der Anime von diesem Buch inspiriert wurde. Das Buch ist in Englisch, aber tatsächlich sehr einfach zu lesen und zu verstehen auch für nicht-Muttersprachler. Ich empfehle trotzdem ein minimum von B2, sonst schlägt man jedes zweite Wort nach.

• This is a classic fairy tail. It is China's equivalent of the Brother's Grimm. If you enjoy fairy tales, you should buy this as it is well written and not tedious as other versions are. Aurthur Waley did an excellent job of making the story a joy to read. You can even read this book to your children the same way you would read any fairy tale book to children. It is nicely organized with each chapter as a separate episode or story that allows for a pause between chapters without losing the overall arc of the story. It is entertaining, and has hidden gems of both wisdom and mystical teachings for those who have the eyes to see. In other words, you can learn advanced spiritual alchemy from this book if you are paying attention. Secret lore hidden in a fairy tale! Ironically...it also shows Buddhism's nastier side. Few people know that even the Buddha himself had no problem using force to "convince" others of the superiority of his argument. Or that there is no such thing as mercy and forgiveness in Buddhism. The wheel of Karma...divine punishment... is merciless and inescapable. And refusing to bow down and know your proper place in the hierarchy... is an unpardonable sin. A great read!

• I read this after having read the excellent San Guo Yan Yi (The Three Kingdoms/Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which I would highly recommend) and, having known a bit about Chinese culture, language and literature I went into it knowing what to expect and was delighted that it had surpassed my expectations. Most often referred to as Xi You Ji or, Journey to the West, it is difficult to appreciate why the author chose to call it "Monkey". While the character of Monkey does occupy much of the first part of the book and remains the strongest and, I'm guessing, most people's favourite character throughout, he is still only part of the entourage of characters who face the Journey. Still, what's in a title? This book is replete with humour, both obvious and subtle. It would help if you had a certain understanding of Chinese History and culture in your reading of this book to understand the many references contained within. However, even if you don't know a jot about anything to do with China, you will still find this book immensely enjoyable and full of quotable wisdoms. It details first the story of the birth of monkey and his fate and then the birth of "Tripitaka" and then begins the Journey to the West. It might often appear a bit disjointed, leaping around topics. For example, you begin with the story of Monkey, and are then thrown into a (seemingly) completely unrelated topic. But the way Wu Cheng'An has worked all these plots into a coherent story is truly brilliant. Instead of finding it disjointed, I found the the jumps kept the book very exciting. While there are certain parts of the plot which I assume are composed according to the epic style of the time (for example, all the battles take place in rounds, or bouts, and seem to follow a standardised format of engage and retreat/chase), these don't detract anything from the novel to one who is used to epic literature (for example, the battles in the Iliad followed a pattern). In following the path of Tripitaka, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy you invariably pick your favourite for each has their own individual personalities and stock epithets. Pigsy is fat and glutenous and fights with a rake (!) and perhaps is one of the funniest charicatures in the book. Monkey is a mischief maker, both loveable and naughty with fabulous powers. Sandy... doesn't really do much. Tripitaka is hilarious simply because he is portrayed as the hero of this book but spends most of his time being rescued by his disciples! It truly is riotous. Thus, even if you fail to understand the relationships of the San Jiao (Three teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism)or the nature of the bureaucracy (the way heaven mimics earth), you will still find this one of the funniest reads of your life. Enjoy! (The other three classics of Chinese literature are The Three Kingdoms, The Story of the Stone/Dream of the Red Chamber and The Outlaws of the Marsh and I highly recommend all of them)

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